Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Industry and Innovation. How is the Albanese Labor government's delivery of reliable energy driving good blue-collar jobs in regional Australia? What are the threats to this?

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the newly-shaven member for Hunter. His passion for jobs in our community is very laudable. We know that our vibrant, world-class industrial sector delivers good jobs for Australians—hundreds of thousands of jobs—and most of them in regional Australia. But the truth is that, without access to cheap and reliable energy, these industries and jobs are under threat. Just ask the workers at Tomago. Rio has been very clear: they haven't been able to secure competitive coal power offers. That's the truth of the matter. But it's a very different situation in Gladstone, where Rio have been able to secure renewable energy agreements. Boyne Island smelter has secured 80 per cent of its electricity needs through new firm renewable projects—the cheapest power available—at prices that will not only keep the smelter open but give the owners the confidence they need to invest.

The bottom line is that, without access to reliable energy now and for years to come, heavy industries like smelters will not have a future. The future is renewables, and the Albanese government recognises this. We're supporting industries to move to renewable energy through the Powering the Regions Fund and the Green Aluminium Production Credit. The Net Zero Fund will invest $5 billion from the NRF on energy efficiency and decarbonising large industrial sites and will also invest in low-emissions manufacturing. The Capacity Investment Scheme is delivering 40 gigawatts of the cheapest generation storage available. The CEFC, which those opposite tried to abolish, has driven renewable energy infrastructure and technology projects nationwide.

The truth is that, at Tomago, we're seeing the consequences of the coalition's decade of energy policy failure—22 failed energy policies, and the workers of Tomago are paying the price.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've been modernising our electricity grid, and the coalition has opposed us every step of the way. The coalition has campaigned against generational projects across the nation, and in abandoning net zero the National Party has betrayed regional Australia—even though they know regional Australia has the most to gain from taking action on climate. Renewables are creating jobs and new revenue sources across regional Australia. In campaigning against affordable energy, the coalition is campaigning against blue-collar jobs.

We're making sure that we're delivering the cheapest power possible and in turn a world-class, vibrant industrial sector. In contrast, the coalition's chaos and division are making energy more expensive and unreliable and will kill manufacturing stone dead.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the member for Page, Leader of the Opposition, no-one else was interjecting for the majority of that answer. To be continually interjecting like that is not acceptable. To assist with the remainder of question time, I ask you to limit the interjections so we can continue. I give the call to the member for Page.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Tomago Aluminium supports around a thousand workers in the Hunter region of New South Wales and is looking at a potential closure. Tomago CEO Jerome Dozol has said, 'Unfortunately, all market proposals received show future energy prices are not commercially viable.' Minister, you say renewable energy is cheaper and that you're installing lots of renewables for the future. If that is the case, why can't Tomago get an energy price in the future that is affordable?

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question and I thank him for quoting the Rio chief executive officer. I think it would have been better, however, if he'd not stopped mid-sentence in that quote. The member for Page read out part of the quote. Mr Dozol said, 'Unfortunately, all market proposals received so far show future energy prices are not commercially viable'—but there's not a full stop in the quote; there's a comma. He goes on to say, 'and there is significant uncertainty about when renewable projects will be available at the scale we need.' The point is that Rio and Tomago are arguing for more renewables, not less. They are not blaming renewables. They're calling for us to do more, and we agree with them. The opposition are the ones out of touch. The opposition are the ones who are so desperate that they actually have to cut a sentence halfway to make their case.

Rio runs more than one smelter. They also run a smelter in Gladstone, and that smelter is safe. One of the reasons that that smelter is safe is that they have been able to enter into contracts with renewable energy providers—that's why. And of interest perhaps to the House is that some of the renewable energy contracts that the Gladstone smelter has entered into are with Smoky Creek solar farm and another solar farm in the area, Upper Calliope Solar Farm. As well as being the two solar farms that Rio has entered into arrangements with, do you know what else they've got in common? The member for Flynn opposed them both and publicly campaigned against both of them. This is the hypocrisy of those opposite. They rail against renewable energy and campaign against it, when people who actually understand how the economy works, like Rio, support renewable energy and enter into contracts with the very projects that those members opposite campaign against.

They are so out of touch with the economic reality of Australia in 2025, they have to misquote Australia's biggest employers. Just a few moments ago, they were laughing at the chief executives of the Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia, and saying, 'What would they know about the economy?' Those geniuses who sit behind the Leader of the Opposition know better than the Business Council and the Australian Industry Group about business and industry! I think that tells us a lot.